A conventional light-emitting component (see FIG. 5), for example an OLED 500, may include an anode 506 and a cathode 510 with an organically functional layer system 508 therebetween. The organically functional layer system 508 may include one or a plurality of emitter layer(s) in which electromagnetic radiation is generated, one or a plurality of charge generating layer structures each including two or more charge generating layers (CGL) for charge generation, and one or a plurality of electron blocking layers, also referred to as hole transport layer(s) (HTL), and one or a plurality of hole blocking layers, also referred to as electron transport layer(s) (ETL), in order to direct the current flow.
In some fields of application, a steel foil 502 is used as substrate for the OLED 500. Firstly, a planarization 504 is applied on the steel foil 502 by means of screen printing or inkjet printing. The planarization is conventionally necessary since the surface 520 of the steel foil is relatively rough, as a result of which the stability of the organic material, e.g. of the organically functional layer system 508, is impaired. Afterward, a silver layer is applied to the planarization 504 by vapor deposition or printing. The silver layer acts as a specularly reflective anode 506 (anode mirror) for the OLED 500. In these fields of application, the cathode 510 is formed in a semitransparent fashion, such that light is coupled out from the OLED 500 through the cathode 510 during operation. Afterward, the OLED is encapsulated by means of a thin-film encapsulation 512 and provided with a scattering layer 514 in order to increase the proportion of coupled-out light and hence the efficiency of the OLED 500. In the scattering layer 514, scattering particles 516 are arranged in a matrix 518.
The scattering particles 516 can potentially bring about damage to the OLED 500. Moreover, a structured deposition of scattering particles 516 on the thin-film encapsulation 512 is difficult. The production of an OLED 500 of this type is thus very complex.